


Half-Blood High

by Self_Aware_Protagonist



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-29 15:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5133406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Self_Aware_Protagonist/pseuds/Self_Aware_Protagonist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war with Gaea is over. Fighting monsters was difficult enough...but surviving the rest of high school?</p><p>This was the first fanfiction I ever wrote and published so the chapters are kind of short and not real great but I hope you enjoy it anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From Heroes to High School

PERCY

It was our first day of high school at Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted. I'll admit, I wasn't too thrilled that I'd be going back to a school I was most likely gonna blow up and/or be expelled from, but fortunately, most of the year-round campers would be going to BAG with me.

Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Nico, Clarisse, the Stolls, Katie Gardner, and I walked through the doors. All of our lockers were close to each other's. Mine was sandwiched in between Annabeth's and Nico's lockers. I put my stuff in my locker, and I helped carry Annabeth's books for her.

A ton of guys gawked at Annabeth, but she would occasionally kiss me on the cheek or snuggle next to me to show them she was mine and mine ALONE.

"How come your textbooks are so heavy?" I whined.

"I'm taking college classes, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said.

When I dropped Annabeth off at her first class, I headed off to physical education with Jason, Leo, and Frank.

"So...high school," Leo grinned like a maniac while looking at his schedule, "So many teachers and bullies to prank, so little time."

"I hope Piper won't get hit on by a bunch of other guys," Jason said.

"I hope Hazel understands all the modern technology," Frank added.

We finally got to the gym, and all of our jaws dropped when we saw who our teacher was: Gleeson Hedge, our satyr chaperone when we were on the Argo II.

"Hedge?!" Leo asked.

"Hey, Cupcakes!" Coach Hedge grinned. "How ya guys doin'? It's been a while since I left on paternity leave for my kid, Rose Hedge. Get changed and get out here for Capture the Flag."


	2. Foreign Exchange Student

ANNABETH

I flipped through the Modern Architecture textbook, when I heard the chair next to me groan as someone slid into it.

I looked up. It was a boy that looked about seventeen years old. He had pale skin, caramel brown hair, and stormy gray eyes. He looked over at me.

"Hullo. I'm Xavier Fray. I'm a British exchange student. And your name is?" He said to me.

"Annabeth Chase." I replied.

"Annabeth," he mused, "What an interesting name; it's almost the same as my sister Annabelle's name."

I scoffed. "My old summer camp director used to get my name wrong all the time. He ALWAYS called me 'Annabelle' or 'Annie-Belle' or 'Amy-Beth' or something else that was hardly close."

Xavier laughed, and thunder rumbled in the distance. I guess Mr. D must've heard me up on Olympus or wherever he was.

The lectures began. I retrieved my spiral notebook and flipped through recent ideas I'd come up with.

"You're quite the architect," Xavier said to me.

"That's what I really want to do, to be an architect. I've got some ideas for a new presidential memorial building, if you want to see." I turned to face him, and I realized he's extremely close. I could feel his breath.

"I'd love to, Annabeth," he whispered.


	3. Drop Dead Gorgeous

PIPER

Her name was Chloe Clayton. She was the school's most popular and most beautiful girl. That is, until I came along.

Of course I don't think I'm pretty, but at least I'm not fake like Chloe.

On my way to theatre class, I was ambushed by a girl with flyers for a school beauty pageant.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Lacey! Would you like to enter in the BAG Beauty Pageant?" She squeaked.

"Um...no...I..." I began.

"Of course she wouldn't, Lacey," Chloe's voice said behind me, "A girl like her wouldn't have the guts to get up onstage."

"It's nothing like that," I insisted, "Beauty pageants are just stupid, degrading, and sexist ways for perverted men to gawk at a natural phenomenon."

Chloe scoffed. "That's what a coward would say," she mumbled.

My blood boiled. Chloe signed her name on the sign-up sheet.

"Fine! Gimme that pen." I muttered an ancient Greek curse as I signed my name to become a degraded pageant girl.


	4. A Whole New World

HAZEL

Over the quiet summer after the war with Gaea, I learned to adjust to the modern world. I learned how to surf the Internet, what makes Happy Meals happy (but personally, I think they're gross), and how to make an account for a social networking site (my favorite is deviantART). And I also got to go out on a few normal dates with Frank.

But high school at BAG was an entirely different story.

I walked into the history classroom hesitantly. Chiron had explained to me that African-American kids like me were treated much, much better than they had been the first time I was alive, but I wasn't so sure.

However, the teacher, Mr. Wilson, was an African American man, and none of the white kids said anything.

"Today class, we'll be learning about the great assets of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I expect you all to know who he is." Mr. Wilson said.

My heart did a flip. Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?

I raised my hand tentatively. "Um, sir, I don't know who he is."

The entire class exploded with laughter and taunts.

"How do you not know?"

"Have you been living under a rock for fourteen years?"

"Are you that stupid?"

My face grew hot. I was dead for decades. How could I explain that?

"Um...I'm an exchange student," I lied.

"From where? Mars?" One kid snickered.

I couldn't say New Orleans, because that was still part of the U.S.

"Um...Down Under," I continued. Even though Jason told me that was slang for Australia, it wasn't a lie because I had been living 'Down Under' the U.S., but in the Underworld.

"Where's your Australian accent, Martian Girl?" Another kid taunted.

"It's perfectly fine, Hazel," Mr. Wilson said, "Why don't you come in for lunch to get caught up in American history?"

"Yes, Mr. Wilson," I agreed.

But the other kids kept labeling me "Martian Girl", despite my convincing lie.


	5. Greece Lightning

JASON

Leo and I had auto shop after gym.

"Man, I miss Capture the Flag back at camp," Leo said.

"Me too," I agreed.

We worked on a car together with Nyssa, Leo's half sister from Hephaestus cabin.

"I can't wait to hook up the stereo, the mega rocket blaster, the fancy gilded cup holders..." Leo gushed.

"Our car is gonna be boss," Nyssa agreed.

"'This car could be...'" Leo grinned, "'Systematic. Hydromatic. Ultramatic...'"

"Oh gods, Leo," Nyssa groaned.

"Please don't use 'Grease' references while we work on this car," I muttered.

But Leo hopped up on the hood and spread his arms. "'Why, it could be Greece Lightning!'"

"Hold on; did you say 'Greece', as in G-r-e-e-c-e?" Nyssa pointed out.

"Yeah, baby!" Leo said.

"Nice wordplay," I admitted.

"Thank you," Leo bowed, "Now, back to the song!"

Nyssa and I groaned.


	6. The New Girl

LEO

After auto shop with Jason and Nyssa, I headed to home economics class.

"I see we have two new students to the school: Leo Valdez and Callie Atlas." The teacher, Miss Windsor, said.

My heart jumped when I saw Callie: caramel hair braided with gold, almond eyes, pouty lips, a crisp white t-shirt, jeans, and Greek gladiator sandals. In short, she looked an awful lot like a girl I knew, a girl I promised I'd come back for....

She sat next to me. "Hi," she said to me, as if speaking to an old friend, which made my heart constrict.

"Hi; I'm..." I began.

"Leo, I know." Callie said.

There was a pause, and then she said, "You're staring at me."

"Mr. Valdez," Miss Windsor said, "I understand she's a very pretty girl, but please pay attention to the lesson."

I blushed. "Y-yes, Miss Windsor." I muttered as the class snickered at me.

I turned to study Callie again. She looked at me skeptically.

"S-sorry," I admitted, "You just...remind me of someone, a girl I met a while ago..."

"You broke your oath," Callie said suddenly.

My heart skipped a beat. "W-what oath?"

She pressed her lips to my ear, and whispered, "You promised you'd come back for me. Instead, I became mortal and came after you. It's so nice to see you again, Leo."

"Callie..." I mumbled. "Short for...?"

"Calypso."


	7. Un-Bear-Able

FRANK

My good day took a dark turn.

It was finally the end of the day. My locker was right next to Hazel's. I was packing up my stuff when a group of freshman guys pelted Hazel with a volley of crumpled-up paper balls.

"Martian Girl!" They jeered.

Hazel gritted her teeth and slammed her locker shut.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's nothing," Hazel said.

I kissed her on the forehead. "You're my girlfriend; you can trust me."

"Who's Martin Luther King Jr.? Who's John F. Kennedy? What was the Civil Rights Movement? Frank, you'll never understand what it's like to be dead for so long that you miss decades of history." Hazel slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I need to talk to Nico; he understands."

I met Hazel's bullies outside the school. I made an accidental fool of myself when I tripped over my own foot. Despite a few months of being this way, I hadn't gotten used to that epic growth spurt at Triptolemus's place in Italy.

"Klutz!" One of her bullies yelled.

I stormed up to them. "Look guys; you don't understand what Hazel is going through. Could you just lay off?"

Their leader, a guy with a chip in his tooth, sneered at me and said, "Sure we'll lay off...NOT! I don't care if you're her boyfriend or whatever. She's a freak that's been living under a rock for her entire life." His cronies snickered.

I hate bullies. My own father, Mars, is basically the king of bullies. I've dealt with them all my life. I wanted to punch them back.

Then, something happened. I started to gain weight and sprout shaggy brown fur. My face elongated into a snout. I fell on my knees; no, not my knees. I had four legs now. I tried to yell, but a deep roar escaped my throat.

The bully and his gang screamed and ran away.

I looked at myself in the windows of the school.

I wasn't Frank any more.

I was a bear.


	8. Not So Alone

NICO

The next day of school, I fell in love.

I was pretty sure I'd never fall in love again; not after Percy Jackson. I was young and impressionable. I didn't know who I was. I still don't know.

In homeroom, I had my hands stuffed inside the pockets of my bomber jacket. I felt something in my pocket, hard and plastic. I pulled it out of my pocket: it was a Mythomagic figurine.

To be exact, the Hades figurine.

I'm not even sure how it got there. I was pretty sure that Percy Jackson gave it to me when he told me Bianca was dead. I was pretty sure I hurled it at his feet and called him a liar. And that's when I ran away.

But here it was. I rubbed the dirt off it. My father's face scowled up at me. I traced my fingers over its black robes. Part of his skull-topped staff had broken off, probably when Percy slipped on it.

"Is that a Mythomagic figurine?" A voice behind me asked eagerly.

I whirled around. A boy was standing there. He was probably my age...who am I kidding? I'm technically older than I look. The boy looked fourteen or fifteen. He had orange hair and green eyes. A few freckles were sprinkled over his nose. His face was bright and cheery; the exact opposite of mine.

I thought,  _No way I could be friends with this kid._ But he regarded me with his eyes, and I was paralyzed.

"Uh, yeah...but I don't play it anymore." I said passively.

He sat down in the empty desk next to mine. "Aw, that's too bad; I was gonna show you my collection of Mythomagic cards and figurines."

The way he said "Mythomagic cards and figurines" made him sound like Bianca when she offered me candy. I was tempted to resist...but I couldn't.

"I guess you could show me." I said.

The boy rummaged through his backpack and brought out a binder and a one gallon Ziploc bag stuffed with figurines. He opened the bag and dumped the figurines out onto his desk. He lined them up neatly like he was making a plastic army.

"You've got the super-rare, limited edition phoenix figurine?" I gawked.

"Yep; and I've got its rare foil card." The boy said. He opened the binder and showed me the shiny card.

Memories of a happier childhood flooded my brain.

"Can I see your cards and figurines?" He asked.

I couldn't just tell him I burned them in a fire when my sister died. I didn't have them anymore. But some kind of mysterious force told me to open my backpack...

I opened the backpack. Inside was a binder like the boy's and a one gallon Ziploc bag full of the figurines I used to own. I took them out of the backpack.

I gingerly took the figurines out of the Ziploc bag. I rubbed my fingers on them. They were just like the ones I'd thrown in the fire, and they were all there. I wondered where they came from...

"Cool! You've got a  _katobleps_?" The boy asked.

"Uh, yeah," I said.

"That's in the  _Africanus Extreme_ expansion deck!" The boy exclaimed.

"I know," I said.

"Wanna trade with me?" The boy asked.

"Which one?" I asked smugly.

"I'll trade my super-rare, limited edition phoenix and the foil card for your Dionysus figurine and card." He offered.

Don't tell Mr. D, but I was actually really eager to get rid of my Dionysus figurine after the real god told me not to call him "the Wine Dude".

"I never told you my name; I'm Casey Arnold." The boy said. "I'm also homosexual."

That last part shocked me. I knew times had changed, and people could be more open about their sexuality, but...

"I'm Nico Di Angelo," I said. I didn't just want to tell him what I was. But maybe...maybe someday I could? For the first time in forever (and yes, I am aware of the "Frozen" reference there; and yes, I did see the movie, but don't tell anyone), I felt a spark of hope.

Casey regarded me with his green eyes again. I made the mistake of looking into them. My heart skipped a beat. I bit my lower lip to suppress a smile.

"What?" Casey asked.

"Nothing," I muttered, looking away. My face felt hot. I looked down at my hand. At some point, I had put the Hades figurine down and had absent-mindedly picked up a new figurine.

I wasn't entirely happy when I saw which figurine I had picked up, mainly because I had met the real version, and he had ruined my life. It might've been my eyes playing tricks on me, but I thought, just for a second, the figurine winked at me.

It was a figurine of Cupid, the Roman personification of love.


	9. Words Don't Hurt Me

CLARISSE **  
**

As a child of Ares, I'm trained to know how to deal with every form of war and learn how to fight with every weapon.

What they don't teach you in Ares cabin is how to deal with the greatest weapon of all: words.

The texts came after school.

I was walking out with Chris Rodriguez, his arm around my shoulder. I felt like a normal girl for once, not a girl that was supposed to cover up her weaknesses.

Suddenly, the demigod-friendly cell phone Leo created for us going to BAG made a noise; I got a text.

"Who's this, Risse? You texting some other guy?" Chris teased.

"Shut up," I said playfully. I checked the message. Confusion fogged up my brain as I read each word:

_Go back to the military._

"What is it?" Chris asked.

"Nothing," I said, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

"Come on," Chris said, "I know you better than you think."

"It's nothing," I said, a bit more forcefully.

My phone made a noise again.

_No one likes you._

I growled and shoved my phone in my back pocket.

"What's going on?" Chris asked.

I growled again. "Let's just get back to camp."

We got back to camp. Chris kissed me on the cheek as I entered my cabin.

I got another text.

_You're ugly and stupid._

My heart clenched. This shouldn't have hurt me. I wasn't usually the victim.

I stormed up to the Big House to talk to Chiron.

"Ah, Miss La Rue," Chiron said casually when I walked through the door, "How are you? Has school been going well?"

"Um, well..." I began.

"Is something troubling you?" He asked. "You aren't usually brought down."

He was right. I wasn't usually brought down.

"Uh, never mind," I said, "It's nothing, really. I'll just go now."

I exited the Big House and went to the arena to blow off some steam.

I took out my electric spear and stabbed the nearest dummy.

"Stupid...text...messages," I muttered with each stab, "Won't...bring...me...down..."

But I was wrong.

When I woke up the next day, I got another text.

_Why are you still alive?_

That was it. I wasn't gonna put up with this Minotaur crap anymore.

But who was I gonna tell? I wasn't a coward. Telling someone instead of fighting my own battles was not in the nature of an Ares kid.

Chris walked with me to BAG. "So, those text messages..." He began.

"What about them?" I snapped.

"Who are they from?" Chris asked. He sounded a little forlorn.

"They're not from a guy," I clarified.

"Oh," Chris said. "Then who are they from and what do they say?"

I felt a lump in my throat. I choked back a sob. These words shouldn't be getting to me. I was a demigod. I've fought monsters far worse than silly text messages. Words weren't weapons...were they?

I handed him my phone. He checked my messages.

"Oh Risse," he said, wrapping his arms around me.

I sobbed. "I don't know who is sending these messages, and I don't know why they're getting to me. I...I'm no Ares kid if someone's words are getting to me."

"You need to tell someone," Chris said.

"Who?" I asked. "They wouldn't help me. I'm supposed to be tough."

"It's not cowardly to tell someone." Chris said.

Just then I received another text.

_Look who's a crybaby. I thought you were tough, Clarisse La Rue. You're nothing but a joke._

"Well, we know one thing about your cyberbully," Chris said.

I sniffled. "What?"

"They must be nearby, because they knew you were crying." Chris replied.

I jumped to my feet and wiped my tears away. I murderously scanned the area. I saw a flash of honey blond in the woods by the school. My initial thought was Annabeth, but Annabeth's hair was like a lighter blonde.

I ran off to pursue the cyberbully, but I never found her/him.

Later that day, I decided to take Chris's advice. I marched straight up to the headmistress's office.

Ms. Laird, the headmistress of BAG (everyone calls her The Bag Lady), listened to my rant about the text messages.

"Thank you for telling me, Miss La Rue," Ms. Laird said, "Your actions were necessary. I will hold an assembly in the auditorium to announce the issue."

"Thanks Ms. Laird," I said, heading out the door. I turned around and added, "But could you please not use my name? I still want to keep my tougher reputation."

"I can do that," Ms. Laird agreed.

The assembly was held in the gym. Ms. Laird went on about a certain student who was being tormented by texts. She read them off, but didn't use my name for the most recent one.

"This type of behavior, known as cyberbullying, is a major issue with today's teens. Suicides have been reported due to cyberbullied students. I will not have this behavior at my school. Whoever is responsible for sending these texts will be punished severely." Ms. Laird said.

After the assembly, Chris and the other demigods came up to me.

"Clarisse," that punk Percy Jackson said, "I heard that you were the one getting cyberbullied. Is this true?"

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Jackson," I retorted.

"I'm not going to fight your battles," he admitted, "But you are my friend, and I want to help."

I was about to say, "I don't need your help" when I got yet another text.

 _You'll never get me to confess to Ms. Laird. Besides, you'd be better off_  dead.

I growled loudly.

Then, Annabeth got an idea: "Clarisse, I know how to trace those texts to the right phone. Just give me your phone tonight, and I'll help you."

Again, I wanted to say, "I don't need your help". I glanced at Chris. He nodded at me.

"Alright Chase," I grumbled, handing her my phone, "Just don't screw up."

"I won't," Annabeth agreed.

The next day was Friday. I could finally relax tonight...that is, if whoever was sending me those texts would give up.

Annabeth handed me the phone when we got to our lockers. We gathered around her to get the results. "This is the phone number. The problem is,  _anyone_  could have that number. Luckily, I have a hunch, and luckily, my hunches aren't usually wrong." She said.

Just then, Chloe Clayton and her pack of makeup-addicted she-demons walked by behind us.

Annabeth dialed the number and held the phone up to her ear.

Chloe's phone started ringing. She answered it. "Hello?"

Annabeth said, "Gotcha."

We whirled around. Chloe's face was scrunched up in a sneer. "I'll get you Clarisse; I'll ruin you!"

"Nice try, sister," Piper said, coming up behind her. "We've already got you. We know you've been sending those texts to Clarisse."

"Yeah, and though Clarisse may not be our favorite gal, she's still one of us. And we don't like other kids messing with us." Percy said.

I wanted to punch that punk, but I also wanted to thank him.

"I think it's time you and I had a walk down to Ms. Laird's office," Piper said, using her best Charmspeak.

At lunch, we all gathered around to hear Piper's news.

"The bad news is that when Chloe returns, she'll be out to ruin us again." Piper said.

"What's the good news?" Jason asked.

"And where is the returning from?" Frank added.

Piper's smile turned into a smirk. "Word is that Chloe Clayton has been suspended for two months."

All of us, except Chris and me, cheered.

Leo held up a carton of chocolate milk. "To Piper, for her excellent Charmspeak!"

The seven of the prophecy plus Chris raised their milk cartons. "TO PIPER!"

Percy raised his blue Coke. "To Annabeth, for single-handedly finding out the truth!"

They raised their beverages again. "TO ANNABETH!"

Chris raised his milk carton. "To Clarisse, toughest of the tough!"

This time I stood up as they cheered, "TO CLARISSE!"

I learned something important that day. I learned that words can be your most hurtful weapons, and that they should be wielded with care. I also learned that telling someone about a bully isn't cowardice; it's necessary to keep on fighting.


	10. Miss BAG

PIPER

The stupid beauty pageant I had signed up for finally came around.

"Jason, do you think I should wear the pink sleeveless dress or the teal strapless dress?" I asked.

"Umm..." Jason scratched his head. As I showed him the pictures of the dresses on my phone. "I think...the teal one..."

"That's what I was thinking, too..." I muttered.

"Pipes, why are you even doing this?" Jason asked. "You may be a daughter of Aphrodite, but this isn't you."

"Are you kidding? This is  _exactly_ me; signing up for stupid things to prove myself to other people." I said.

"You don't have to prove yourself to anyone," Jason said, "you've proven yourself to me, and I love everything about you."

"Jason, if you loved me, then you wouldn't be against my decisions." I snapped, and I stormed off.

Finally the day of the school pageant arrived.

I hid behind the curtain in the teal dress, feeling like millipedes were using my stomach as a dance hall.

At least that rotten brat Chloe wasn't here...

Suddenly the door slammed open. And guess who was standing in the doorway.

"Chloe, what are you even doing here?" I snapped. "Didn't you get suspended?"

"My daddy made a little exception," she said, "I  _always_ win the beauty pageants, and there is no way I am losing this one, especially to a little Dumpster Girl like you."

Dumpster Girl. Drew used that term a lot against me. I could tolerate only one person calling me that, but two was unthinkable.

"I will win this pageant, and you will see that I represent the other Dumpster girls like me," I said.

"Hm," Chloe said, and she strutted away to change into her dress.

Finally the show started. And I was startled to see the host of the show: LEO?

"Hello ladiesandgentlemen, and welcome to this year's Miss BAG beauty pageant! I'm your host, Leo Valdez! Let's meet the contestants!" He said smoothly into the mic.

We were called out onstage.

"Here we have...Piper McLean!" Leo shoved the mic under my nose.

"I'm Piper, and I..." I had to name a hobby. I had no hobbies. I couldn't swordfight at Camp. The only thing I could do was charmspeak. Charmspeak. I couldn't say 'Charmspeak' itself, but I could say something really convincing...."I'm Piper and I love all of you!" I said, slathering on the Charmspeak like butter on toast.

The crowd cheered loudly for me. I hammed it up by blowing a kiss out to the audience. Some guy actually stood up and caught it, and that's when I realized that the boy was Jason. My heart fluttered; he had come to support me, even after I was rotten to him.

"Hear that, ladies and gentlemen? We certainly have an instant-favorite!" Leo said. "And next up we have..."

"Chloe Clayton, and my daddy loves me!" Chloe said, blowing a kiss to her dad in the stands.

I rolled my eyes as the crowd cheered.

Leo kept going down the line. Chloe sneered at me.

"Nice try, Dumpster Girl, but I wasn't affected by your little sweet phrase," she said.

Did that mean she could detect Charmspeak? She screamed "mortal", but I wasn't so sure. Some mortals could see through the Mist...

"Next up is the...well, ah, the nerds chose this one, so...the Cosplay portion of the pageant. See how many characters you can recognize! We'll be right back!" Leo said.

Cosplay? Seriously, those nerds needed to get a hobby.

As I went backstage to change into a costume, I was surprised to see Annabeth in my dressing room.

"Hey Pipes," she said, "I just was wondering what you had in mind for the cosplay portion."

"What do you know about cosplay?" I asked.

"Piper, I live in the Athena cabin. Most people call it 'Nerd Central'. You don't know  _how_ many games of Dungeons and Dragons I've been sucked into. And technically, cosplay is just a modern word for dress-up." Annabeth explained. "Now...I think you would best be...Hermione Granger from 'Harry Potter'."

In a few minutes, my hair was a mass of brown bushy fluff and I was wearing a Hogwarts uniform. "What?"

"Haven't you ever read the series?" Annabeth asked.

"Well..." I hadn't really. In truth, I had actually been on set of the movies, but I'd never found time to read the books.

"Now get out there!" Annabeth pushed me into the hallway just as Chloe sashayed by.

"Wow Dumpster Girl, that is  _so_ lame," she said.

Annabeth came out of the dressing room.

"Another girl in the room? Wow Piper, I thought you had a boyfriend, but I guess not..." Chloe snickered.

"She's not...I'm not..." I stammered.

"Who are you supposed to be, Chloe? Princess Zelda or Princess Peach?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm not going as one of your lame nerd girls, Annabeth," Chloe said. "I'm going as Cinderella because, unlike you, Annie, I actually have a chance of finding a Prince Charming." She cackled as she walked away.

Annabeth had a gleam of death in her eyes. "I wanna kill her so bad...but she's mortal, and mortals aren't worth beating down."

Break was soon over. We were called out onstage to do a ten-second skit of acting out who our character was.

When I went up, I pointed a stick out into the crowd and yelled the only Harry Potter spell I actually remembered: " _Expelliarmus!_ "

Luckily, I recognized one of the stagehands as a daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic. She winked at me and cast a spell from her fingertips, and the crowd was awed.

"Nice job, Beauty Queen," Leo said, giving me a thumbs-up.

Next was the talent portion. I had no talents, besides Charmspeak. I could speak fluent French if I tried. Maybe I could make up something with that...

I stumbled onto the stage in two-inch high platform heels and my pink dress. I straightened myself and said, "I am going to do something no one's ever done before: recite a Haiku in French. A Haiku is a poem with three verses, the first and last having five syllables, and the second verse having seven."

I cleared my throat. "Je suis le poisson." (I am the fish.)

"Je suis le poisson. J'aime nager dans la mer bleue. Je suis le poisson." I said. I didn't realize I had said: "I am the fish. I love to swim in the blue sea. I am the fish." It was hardly poetry, but I think I still won the crowd over.

"You call  _that_ talent?" Chloe sneered. "My dog poops with more talent than you."

"Give it up, Chloe; they love me." I said.

"No, they love  _me_!" Chloe screamed.

She grabbed my shoulders and shoved me. I shoved her back. She shoved me out onto the stage, and I slammed into a girl playing the tuba.

Everyone laughed at me, and I was mortified. I ran backstage to cry.

I was surprised when Jason tapped me on the shoulder and kissed me on the forehead. "You'll be okay, Pipes. Come back strong."

"You're right Jason," I said. "I'm sorry I was so horribly mean to you earlier this week. I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, Pipes; I love you." He said. "Now get out there and win this."

Finally, we were all lined up out on the stage for the question portion. After this, the winner is chosen.

Leo pressed the mic to my face. "So Piper, if you could go anywhere for one day, where would you go?"

"Um, well, I think I would...go to Africa to help the starving children," I said, layering on the Charmspeak. It wasn't completely lying. I would go to Africa to help starving children.

"Wow, listen to that, ladies and gents. This girl's got a heart of pure gold for sure!" Leo clapped his hands, and the crowd did the same.

"Now Chloe, if you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?" Leo asked Chloe.

"I already have a million dollars, Leo. But I would donate it all to charity!" Chloe announced.

 _Yeah right,_ I thought,  _the National Chloe Clayton Charity_...

"Alright judges, you've heard it here! Now let's begin the voting! Is there anything the contestants would like to say before we pick a winner?" Leo asked.

"I just want to say that my daddy will give all of you one hundred dollars if you vote for me!" Chloe said.

That was it. I snapped. "Chloe, that is the  _stupidest_ thing I've  _ever_ heard. You only care about yourself, not other people. You think you can just buy your way through everything. Well, I'm here to say that you can't. And you may ask, 'Who are you to say something like that? You're poor as dirt.' Well, I'm here to announce that I am not poor and I am not rich. But my father is just as famous as your dad."

"And who could your dad possibly be? No one is as important as Albert Clayton," Chloe said.

"My dad is Tristan McLean." I said. "And I'm here to say that even though my dad is a famous movie star, I don't represent the rich kids. I represent everyone, from the cosplaying nerds to the nice rich kids, like my friend Rachel Dare. I know that money can't buy you happiness. I don't even care if you vote for me at all; I just want you to know that I won't represent myself. I represent everyone."

Jason stood up in the audience and clappped. Then, two other people applauded. Then five, seven, ten, fifteen...everybody stood up and applauded.

No Charmspeak was even involved in that speech; it was completely from the heart.

"Well, the judges have counted out the votes, and it is unanimous! The winner of the Miss BAG beauty pageant is...PIPER MCLEAN!" Leo announced.

Two stagehands came out with a sash, tiara, and a bouquet of roses.

Jason dashed onto the stage and scooped me up, holding me high on his shoulders.

"Piper! Piper! Piper!" Leo chanted.

"PIPER! PIPER! PIPER!" The audience chanted.

Chloe stamped her foot and stormed offstage, up to her father. "Daddy, didn't you vote for me?!"

"Sorry sweetie, but I voted for Piper. Now come along; you're grounded for a month. No private jet trips with your friends." Mr. Clayton said.

I laughed as Jason carried me offstage and out to the school field, where the rest of my friends were waiting for me. They were the ones I represented.


	11. Flame On

LEO

_Oh my gods...I can't believe you're back!_

This had been my primary thought when Calypso, er,  _Callie_ , had showed up in my home economics class. Ever since then, I had tried to find the courage to ask her out, but I never found it. It was funny that a guy with so much swagger for any girl could lose it with the mention of one girl. But she was different; she was an immortal who became mortal.

I chose to work with her on every project, mostly because I can burn water, often with my body.

"What should we do for our international dessert project?" She asked me one day in class.

I was too busy staring at her beauty.

"LEO!" She yelled.

"Sorry, Sunshine!" I said, startled. "Um...how about...churros?"

"Leo, as much as I would love to do that, we already did fajitas for our other bi-weekly international foods project. I want to do something else, but sadly, I do not know much about outside culture." Calypso said.

"Um...how about...." I searched the room for some reference. Then I remember Piper talking about something she had to make for French class. "Creme brulee?"

"What is that?" Calypso asked.

"We'll find out together." I told her.

That night back at Camp Half-Blood, the two of us used my monster-proof computer to search for creme brulee recipes.

"I think this should be easy," I said, "but I  _really_ want to contribute to the project this time."

"I'm sure you'll find something to do," Calypso assured me, kissing my cheek.

"Yeah..." I mumbled, feeling a fire inside me.

The next day, we met up in home ec to work on our project.

"I'm trying to perfect the batter recipe; how does it taste so far?" Calypso spooned a bit of the creme brulee mixture into my mouth.

"Mmm..." I mumbled, "that's amazing. For someone who barely knows what creme brulee is, this tastes awesome!"

"Thanks," Calypso said, blushing. "Now, help me break some eggs for the next batch."

I broke them, alright. Not in the right way, of course.

We spent days perfecting the recipe. I was bored as ever, desperately wanting to help my crush in our project to impress her.

I stayed up later and later trying to find the missing piece of all creme brulee recipes, but my ADHD got the best of me and I got distracted.

In class, it was worse. Calypso's beauty or her bird-like humming while she worked put me in a trance of love. Even if she slapped me with a hot butterknife, I still didn't stop.

The days passed by. Finally it was time to present our projects, and we barely had improved. Calypso's creme brulee tasted amazing, but it was...runny.

Miss Windsor came around, tasting everyone's projects and critiquing them.

"Oh no; she's almost at our table!" Calypso whispered. "And it's still not perfect!"

Suddenly a lightbulb went off in my head: I remembered what I needed to do.

"We forgot to add the sugar on top, and then we blowtorch it!" I announced quietly.

"What?!" Calypso hissed.

"Trust me!" I dipped my hand into the bag of sugar and sprinkled a fine layer on top of the creme brulee.

I searched for a blowtorch. Luckily there was one...on the other side of the room. There was no way I'd reach it on time.

I panicked, but then I remembered another important detail: I  _was_ a blowtorch.

Excitedly, I set my right index finger ablaze like a copper-colored candle. I brought the flame closer to the dessert, carmelizing the sugar on top. Calypso's worried frown became an excited, triumphant smile.

Miss Windsor finally reached our table. "Let's have a taste." She dipped a spoon in.

"Careful," I warned, "it's still hot."

Miss Windsor brought the spoon to her lips, and tasted our creation.

"Oh, Leo, Callie, this is  _delicious_! It is, by far, the  _best_ creme brulee I've ever tasted; and I've been to France! You even managed to carmelize the sugar just well enough, and still keep it warm! Nicely done! A+ for both of you!" She declared.

"Leo! You're a genius!" Calypso said.

"Thanks Calypso," I said, my face burning like an oven.

After class, I caught up with her. "Hey, Calypso, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes; what is it?" Calypso replied.

"Um...will you...go out with me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Leo; I don't understand this concept," Calypso replied.

"Well, it's when a guy and a girl who like each other hang out more, and they go places to do stuff, and they're officially a couple according to the social groups at school." I explained.

"It sounds...interesting. I would like to try it with you, Leo. I would." Calypso replied.

"Great! So...do you want to do something tomorrow? Cook, maybe? We don't even need an oven." I joked.

"I would love to. See you tomorrow, Leo. Camp Half Blood. Don't forget." Calypso confirmed, and she drifted off down the hallway.

When I was sure she was gone, I punched the air and yelled, "FLAME ON!" Then, I hurried to English class.


	12. This is Halloween

_WARNING: CONTAINS BLOOD OF OLYMPUS SPOILERS. PLEASE TURN AWAY IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE BOOK._

NICO

Halloween soon rolled around for all of us at BAG academy.

Much to my dismay, Casey moved away and found himself a boyfriend.

But in the meantime, so did I.

"Who or what are you going as for Halloween?" My new boyfriend, Will Solace of Apollo cabin, asked me.

"Nothing," I told him, "besides, my plans for Halloween are not to go around and ask strangers for candy: this is the time when spirits are the most restless. I'm hoping I can maybe find Bianca floating around here."

Will sighed softly. He sat next to me on my bed and kissed my forehead. My face felt like that idiot Valdez had sneezed ashes on me (that actually happened once, but that's another story).

"You don't think I'm gonna find her, do you?" I asked him bitterly.

"That's not why I kissed you," Will said, "kisses release all kinds of hormones that give the same effects of being on drugs--"

"So you're trying to drug me? I thought you were my boyfriend slash doctor," I told him.

"I just wanted to make you feel better," Will concluded, "trust me: I'm a doctor."

I rolled my eyes. Then Will slid his fingers along my jawline, drawing my face closer to his. He brought me in for a kiss, and I put my arms around his shoulders.

Suddenly the door opened. "Nico have you seen my--"

We both stopped and stared into the golden eyes of Hazel Levesque.

 _Schist_ , I thought to myself.

"Nico, you bad brother," Hazel teased. "Don't worry, I'll be out as soon as I find my costume. Frank and I are going as Maid Marian and Robin Hood."

"We should do a couples costume like all the others," Will said.

"No." I said flatly.

"Aww, come on Nico," Hazel coaxed.

I sighed. "Fiiiiiiiiiine..."

Couples costumes were the stupidest idea ever.

Will had decided on us going as characters from an anime called Ouran High School Host Club. I'd never heard of it, but apparently I was supposed to be Haruhi Fujioka, and he was Tamaki Suoh.

"Will, I don't even know who I am," I said.

"It's okay; no one else really knows except for Annabeth and that other girl in Athena cabin who watches anime," Will told me.

I was not convinced that we looked good.

And to make matters worse, Will had insisted on downloading the English dub version of the opening theme for the anime, "Sakura Kiss"; and every so often he would play it on his phone  _and_  sing along.

"Gods of Olympus, you're a weeb." I muttered.

"Aww, you do love me, Haruhi!" Will exclaimed.

"Aren't I supposed to be a girl?" I asked.

"Uh...who told you?"

"It's a good thing you're cute."

"Aww, Haruhi called me 'cute'!"

I slipped my hand in his while we went door-to-door.

We were trick-or-treating in the neighborhoods in New Rome. After the war with Gaea, all the kids of Hecate got together and created this huge portal where demigods could go between the camps with ease.

"Hey, Will and--Nico?" I heard a voice call out.

Oh crap, it was Annabeth and Percy. Annabeth was dressed as Maka Albarn from an anime called  _Soul Eater_  (which I found pretty cool) and Percy was Soul.

"I didn't know you were into anime," Annabeth said.

"Neither did I; I assumed it  _wasn't your type_." Percy said pointedly.

"OH MY GODS PERCY CAN YOU JUST LET THE POOR KID GO YOU'RE  _MY_  TYPE OKAY?" Annabeth shouted.

"She's right. Man, I'm sorry Nico." Percy said.

"It's cool. We're cool now." We shook on it.

I felt a chill down my spine, and I thought I saw a female spirit drifting away in the wind. "Hey!" I called out after it. I let go of Will's hand and started running toward it.

"Nico!"

The girl's spirit darted in between other kids in costume. I chased after her, hand outstretched, my bony fingers wishing I could grasp her by the tail.

She disappeared in between two buildings, and I found myself in an alley alone.

_Nico..._

"Who is it?" I asked. I draw my sword, the blade gleaming in the darkness.

_It's me._

"...Bianca?"

The spirit reappeared, taking the form of my sister.

"I thought I'd never see you again..." I said, dropping to my knees.

"Oh Nico..." She knelt down to me, her cold fingers caressing my tear-stained cheek. "How grown-up you've become. You're dating now, and you're in real high school."

"Y-yeah..." I stammered. "I am."

"I'm so proud of you. Mama is, too. We love you,  _Soldatino_. Stay strong for us." Bianca said.

My mouth twitched into a smile. "Bianca..."

"Goodbye,  _Soldatino_." She kissed my cheek, and her form evaporated.

"Nico!" Will found me on my knees, crying. "Is something wrong?"

"No...everything's fine. It's great, actually." I said.

Will kissed my cheek in the same spot Bianca did. "Good. Now come on; let's get some more candy."

He laced his fingers in between mine. As we left the alley, I glanced back and I thought I saw Bianca wave one last time.


	13. Band Greeks

Thalia POV

**************

"Class, we have a temporary exchange student with us today. She will be attending Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted for the next few months. Her name is Thalia Grace. Please show her the respect of any other student." The teacher said.

I stepped in front of the class, scanning them over as I chewed my gum. My eye caught someone in the fifth row, and her eyes caught mine. I wanted to hug her then and there, but I had to keep cool. I knew she would've, too.

"Miss Grace, if you would kindly spit out your gum, we can continue the lesson for today," she said.

I cocked my head to the side and spat my gum directly into the trash. Then I took a seat right next to her.

"Annie, how are you?" I whispered excitedly.

"I'm good, how's traveling with the huntresses been?" Annabeth asked.

"It's been good, kiddo. We could've done well in the war with Gaea with someone like you, but I know you didn't want to give up your Seaweed Brain." I smirked.

"Miss Grace, I will have you know I do not tolerate speaking while I am speaking," the teacher scolded.

"Yes, ma'am." I replied.

She continued talking, so I scribbled down more conversation onto a note and passed it to Annabeth: _Idk how long I'm staying here._

She wrote back quickly and discreetly dropped the note on my desk: _That's okay; it's nice to see you again._

I write again, _Have you heard anything about that battle of the bands? I'm thinking of starting a band. Who would be the best contenders?_

Annabeth smirked a bit and responded, _Definitely not Percy, he couldn't hold a tune to save his life._

I nearly laughed aloud at her statement. 

 

During lunch, I hung up some flyers for any possible recruits to meet with me at the front of the school when the day ended. At the end of the day, I was met with two people I knew, and one I didn't: Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, and a girl who introduced herself as Sadie Kane.

"Can any of you actually play any instruments?" I asked. I glanced pointedly at Will, seeing as he was a son of the music god.

"I'm just a doctor," he said defensively.

"Why did any of you even sign up?" I was getting irritated now. I turned to Sadie. "What about you, blondie?"

"Don't call me that," she retorted in a British lilt, "and I learned to play a bit on the guitar."

"Great..." I sighed. "Maybe I can find someone to help me..."

 

"You're gonna cheat your way through the battle of the bands?" Leo's eyes widened, though he grinned like he had been waiting for someone to ask.

"Well, it's not really _cheating_ ," I offered, "it's more like _enhancing_  a talent that none of these people have."

"What do you need?" Leo asked.

"Drums, a guitar, a bass, maybe a keyboard, I don't know." I shrugged. "Just make sure they have some kind of magic in them to help them play."

"Got it, but I'll probably have to have some extensive help on this. When do you want them done by?" Leo leaned on the work bench.

"Before next Friday, which is the battle of the bands."

"Yikes, you're really gonna have to pull some all-nighters to get this to work." 

"Not something we aren't used to, right?" I smirked.

 

After rehearsing every single day for the next week after receiving our instruments, the four of us were ready for our debut as The Crossing Myths. 

We had: me on lead guitar and lead vocals; Sadie on bass and second vocals; Nico on keyboard; Will on drums. 

The auditorium was packed with students, including all of our friends to watch us perform.

I strummed the guitar a bit, feeling as if I had done this a million times before when in reality I had only done it every day for the past week. This was how Leo had charmed our instruments, with some kind of instinct spell to guide our fingers to the correct notes.

"How is everyone tonight?" I asked the crowd, the mic echoing. The crowd cheered loudly, and I could pick out Percy and Jason's voices the easiest. That felt a little embarrassing. "We are The Crossing Myths!"

I strummed the first few notes, and soon everybody was playing with me. 

I'll admit I was never very good at poetry, or writing song lyrics for that matter, but Nico was the one who helped me write the song.

At the end of our performance, we took a bow and exited the stage.

"Nice job guys, that was awesome," I grinned.

"Now, we will crown the winner of the Battle of the Bands!" The choir teacher announced. "In third place, we have..."

 _Not us_ , I thought.

"In second place, we have..."

 _Still not us_ , My stomach curled, worrying we wouldn't win. I guess it wasn't really about winning, but it was nice to dream.

"In first place we have...The Crossing Myths!"

My eyes widened and we walked back out onstage to claim our prize: a shiny plastic trophy and prize money, $25 each to us.

Our friends swarmed us as we walked offstage.

"That was _awesome_ , guys!" Percy hugged us all like our dad or something.

"Let's go out to dinner, all of us. You could use that prize money on us..." Leo teased.

"In your dreams, I'm saving this for my next adventure." I grinned, gripping my crisp $25. "Being a half-blood isn't cheap."

In the end, we did all go out to dinner, and feasted like rock stars. 


	14. The Brunch Gang

Frank POV

************

My hands were getting sweaty as I stared at the slip of paper in my hand reading my punishment: Detention.

I hadn't even really done anything wrong, really. I did get sick for a few days and in those days, apparently my shapeshifting powers got a little out-of-whack and I couldn't un-transform from an assortment of zoo animals until an entire two weeks later. I wasn't even sick for the last eight days, and somehow the principal had gotten word that I had "skipped school".

So to make up lost time, I had to spend ten AM to twelve PM on Saturday at the school library for detention.

Sitting in the room with me were four other people, whom I didn't know: two girls, and two boys.

One of the girls, a pretty Arabic-looking girl, was shyly reading a book, but from here I couldn't see what it was about. A black bob framed her face. She looked up at me and her eyes startled me for a second: they were like pure gold, glaring at me with the heat of the sun. I decided to stay away from her.

The second girl didn't seem any better: she sat at the desk cracking her knuckles repeatedly. She looked like she could take me on wrestling in bear form. The more I stared at her, I think I actually recognized her as Clarisse La Rue, but I didn't know much else besides her name. She glared at me and I continued walking among the other desks.

One of the guys was fiddling with the pencils on his desk. He seemed kind of like Leo to me: elfish, sly, always constantly moving. 

The other guy was this big African American dude with countless charms and amulets dangling from his neck. He sat fiddling with a lump of metal, trying to make a new one from his bare hands.

I sat at an empty desk, twiddling my thumbs.

Ms. Laird came in and lectured us, telling us she was very disappointed in our behavior which did not reflect the school's reputation and whatnot. Then she left to let us "reflect on our actions".

The elfish kid stood up, going over to the closed library door. He jiggled the handle. "Yep, locked in."

"What did you expect, genius?" Clarisse retorted. "I guess that explains why you're no child of Athena."

"At least I'm not a child of Ares," the guy said.

"What do you have against my father, punk?" Clarisse stood up. 

"Guys, fighting isn't the answer." The book-reading girl said, not looking up from her book.

"Who do you think you are, standing up for a wimp like that?" Clarisse challenged.

The girl muttered something under her breath and Clarisse's anger suddenly melted.

"Careful Zia, you don't want a repeat of what got you in here." The charm-maker said, not looking up from his lump of metal.

"Hush, Walt." The girl, Zia, snapped.

It occurred to me now that I was in a room full of non-mortals. 

"H-h-hey, who are all of your godly parents, besides Clarisse...?" I offered, trying to settle everyone's growing anger.

Zia stared at me with her sun-like eyes. "Godly parents...? Oh, you must be like what Carter and Sadie told me about."

I furrowed my brows at her. "Excuse me?"

"That means...Walt, we can't be in this room." Zia gathered her books and walked briskly over to the door.

"It's locked," Walt groaned.

"Ugh," Zia muttered, sitting back down. "This is dangerous, Walt."

"Why? It's peacetime right now, everything should be fine. Just chill." Walt shrugged.

"I do not _chill_ , I am a fire magician." Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

"What's gotten into you?" The elf boy asked.

Zia looked around, as if she were being watched.

"The Mist is pretty thick here, I don't think there's any reason to be nervous," I said.

Zia shook her head. "Anyway, this is very dangerous even in peacetime." 

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, demigods and magicians should always stay on the opposite sides of the river." Zia explained.

"What happens if we don't?" I asked.

"Our gods could clash, worlds could be destroyed. Aren't you worried at all, Walt?" Zia asked.

Walt shrugged again, and Zia groaned.

"Just sit tight for now, it's detention."

"Why don't we all get up and introduce ourselves?" The elf boy announced. "Hi, I'm Connor Stoll, son of the Greek god Hermes."

"Sit down, Connor," Clarisse groaned, the spell seeming to have worn off already.

"Uh, I'm Frank Zhang, son of the Roman god Mars..." I said meekly.

Clarisse's eyes fixed to me. " _You're_ my Roman half brother?" 

"Y-y-yeah..." I mumbled.

She narrowed her eyes. "Sorry excuse."

I looked down at my desk. 

"I'm Walt Stone, Egyptian charm maker." Walt said, finally looking up.

Zia pursed her lips tight.

"If you don't introduce yourself, I will do it for you." Walt said.

"Fine. I'm Zia Rashid, Egyptian fire magician." She grumbled.

Connor looked around. "Great..." He sat back down, defeated.

 

The hour drew out long and slowly. My stomach growled, and Connor agreed with an, "I'm hungryyyyy."

"Didn't anyone bring lunch or something?" Clarisse asked.

"There's a vending machine down the hall from here, and I have like $5." Walt said.

"The doors are locked." Zia reminded us.

"I can pick locks, but those doors have those bar things." Connor offered.

Zia thought for a moment. "There is a way out into the hallway, but it's through the copy room."

Connor bolted from his seat to check the door. From the metallic jiggling, we could all tell it was locked. Connor knelt down and examined the lock on the door, and for a while there was no sound except for the occasional door handle-jiggling. 

Finally Connor yelled, "I got it!" He propped the door open with a little wooden wedge and met us. "Alright, pool all your cash together and we'll get as many snacks as we can."

" _We_? Who are you taking with you?" Clarisse pointed out.

"This guy." Connor clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Why me?!" I shrieked.

"You have bigger arms than me, you can carry more snacks." 

"I-I don't know..." I admitted.

"Come on Frank, you can do it." Walt assured.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm busy." He held up the lump of metal, which had a faint beetle shape now.

I sighed. "Fine."

We fished out as much money as we could in our wallets, gathering $25. 

Connor opened the door to the copy room, finding another locked door on the other side of the room. He knelt and started working the lock.

"I don't understand, why am I going with you?" I asked.

"I need a lookout," he said, "and I already said you can carry all the snacks."

I groaned nervously, and he pushed the door open.

We crept down the empty hallway, going to the vending machine. Connor fed the machine the wadded bills while he handed me the snacks and drinks. 

We were feeding it our last dollar when I heard footsteps.

"Connor, hurry up!" I hissed.

"I'm trying, the dollar is too folded up!" He hissed back.

"Forget about it, then!" 

"No, I need another bag of sour gummi worms!" 

The little metal coil unwound, but then stuck.

"Crap!" Connor muttered, banging on the machine.

"Leave it!" I whined.

A teacher came around the corner, stopping when she saw us.

"Run!" I shouted.

Connor and I bolted down the hall. I gripped the snacks, trying not to let any slip.

He pulled the door closed behind us as we slipped back into the library. Panting, Connor shouted, "Sweet victory!"

The rest of our detention-mates cheered, and we dished out the snacks.

 

"So, you're a son of Hermes?" Zia asked between bites of pretzels.

"Yep," Connor agreed.

"Have you ever been to your father's city of Hermopolis? Well, it _was_ Thoth's city, but when the Greeks invaded they renamed it." Zia said.

"No. Where is that, New Jersey?" Connor asked.

"Egypt," Zia said.

"So, you really are a son of Mars?" Clarisse asked me.

"Yeah, I know I don't seem like it." I admitted.

"I hear you got the more noble side of Dad." She said.

"Me, noble? No, not really..." I looked away.

"You were one of the half-bloods of the prophecy," she pointed out, "that means a lot."

"Th-thanks." I said.

"So...why is everyone here anyway?" Connor asked.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and then I spoke up, "I skipped class."

"What? Seriously?" Connor's eyes widened. "I pulled a prank on a teacher."

"I used a fire spell in home economics class and I nearly set the entire kitchen ablaze." Zia mumbled.

"So _that's_ why we had a random fire drill," Connor said. Zia nodded in embarrassment.

"I stole from a teacher." Walt said.

"Dude, you could've asked me! I'm super good at stealing things, I mean, my dad is Hermes and my last name's Stoll." Connor joked.

"I...to be honest, I just come here for some peace and quiet. But that got ruined when I found out Connor was here." Clarisse admitted.

"The real question is _why_ is everyone here." Connor said.

Zia knit her brows. "We just told you--"

"No, I mean _why_ did all these things happen?" Connor asked.

"Are you asking us to tell you about our personal lives?" Walt asked.

"I guess, but we don't have to ever talk to each other about it again. We can forget all of it ever happened after we get released from this prison." Connor said.

"I'll go first then," I offered, "well, I come from a family of shapeshifters, and I got sick a couple weeks ago. Apparently when I get sick, my powers go haywire and I turned into an assortment of animals until I got stuck as a bear for days even after my cold went away. I didn't come to school and I didn't call in my absence, so they figured I just skipped school."

"Dude, can you shapeshift into--" Connor began, but I interrupted with a "Not right now".

"The Ares kids are so loud sometimes, and I really have to get homework done if I want to graduate." Clarisse admitted. "Detention is the only time I can do it."

"It's kind of a long story, but I haven't been around modern appliances for a while. The stove was being faulty so I just decided to use magic, and that backfired." Zia explained.

"I also have kind of a long story, but long-story-short, I needed to finish an amulet before the magic inside escaped so I had to borrow my metal-making teacher's tools to finish it." Walt added.

Connor sighed. "Guess it's my turn...I _really_ miss my brother, he went away to college and he's off somewhere living the college life doing cool things and I'm...here. I pranked someone because I wanted to feel like he was with me, but we always had each others' backs so we were never caught. Now I don't have that..."

We let the words settle a bit, and then the library door opened.

"I hope you five have reflected on your actions," Ms. Laird said as she entered the library.

We crammed the rest of the snacks in our pockets.

"Yes ma'am." We echoed.

"Alright. Well then, you're free to go, and I hope you've all learned your lessons." Ms. Laird said. "

"Thank you, ma'am." We said, and we left. 

As we walked out, we all glanced at each other, glad we shared some of our troubles with each other. 


	15. Let's See How Far We've Come

Percy POV

**************

My ADHD was keeping me fidgeting. Of all the days in my entire life, I couldn't be more terrified for this one.

No, it wasn't my wedding, but I didn't look forward to that, either. I'd look forward to marrying Wise Girl, but I wouldn't exactly want to deal with any monsters on my wedding day.

I straightened my cap and looked in the mirror. I had changed so much since the day I first came to Camp Half-Blood when I was twelve.

My mother hugged my shoulders. "I can't believe you're graduating today, Percy."

"Mom, don't make me cry," I laughed lightly.

"I can't help it; my baby's all grown up."

I smiled when she kissed my forehead.

"Do you think Dad's gonna be there?" I asked.

"I sure hope so; you're his first son in millennia." Mom said.

I sighed. I understood that the gods could be kinda flaky with their children, but I was desperate that my dad would come to see me graduate high school. Six years ago, I never believed I'd even make it through high school.

 

Annabeth POV

****************

Before the ceremony began, I shuffled my notecards in my hands: my valedictorian speech.

Then, it started. The principal called me up for me to give my speech. My legs did not tremble as I walked to the podium.

"My fellow students," I said, "it is a great honor to have walked alongside you this year. When I was a kid, this was merely a fantasy for me. I didn't believe I'd make it to this day in my life."

As I scanned the crowd during my speech, my eyes passed over my dad, who was sitting next to my stepmom and another woman. The woman's eyes met mine, and I recognized her: Athena.

As I kept talking, I looked around for other deities: Poseidon, sitting next to Sally Jackson and Tyson; Ares, fidgeting in his seat; Hermes, itching not to touch his cellphone-caduceus. 

"And so, my friends, I wish you all luck in the world. I've seen it, and it's a terrifying place. But I know we can get through it." I finished.

The audience applauded, and I stepped off the stage and sat back in my seat. 

The ceremony seemed to drawl on as we each received other awards before our diplomas. Finally, that time came. My name came fairly early in the alphabet, so I stepped up, shook Ms. Laird's and other staff members' hands, and walked offstage.

A while after, Percy received his diploma. As he walked apprehensively, I flashed back to the first time I saw him staggering to camp holding a Minotaur horn in his hand before he passed out. I had said he was the chosen one, and he had also become my chosen one.

 

Percy POV

************

When the ceremony finally ended, we all gathered at Camp Half-Blood to celebrate. The gods sitting in the audience seemed to have disappeared, and I felt my heart fill with disappointment.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, hoping it was my dad's but I turned around and found Annabeth instead.

"I _did_ see them here," she murmured to me.

"I know, I believe you." I tell her.

"Son, congratulations." A familiar voice told me. I turned around again and found Poseidon in his most human form in front of me

I wanted to reach out and hug him, but instead I composed myself and said, "Thank you so much for being here."

"Oh come now, surely you're more excited to see me." Poseidon stretched his arms out and wrapped them around me. He seemed to be toning down his godly strength so he didn't crush me, and I awkwardly hugged him back.

"Thank you so much," I felt myself starting to cry. He let me down on the ground.

"I am so proud of you. I've watched over you for years, Percy. I believed you could make it as far as you wanted, and here you are." Poseidon said. 

From behind Annabeth, a woman with the same stormy eyes approached: Athena.

"Annabeth, I'm very proud of you for overcoming your obstacles like a true child of mine," Athena said. 

She nodded meekly. I figured it should be common of Athena's children to graduate, but the goddess seemed sincere.

"Now come on, let's celebrate like true Greeks!" Poseidon announced.

 

I sat at the edge of the beach, letting the ocean lap over my bare feet. The ocean seemed empty since Poseidon was still at the party, like an entire piece of it was missing.

Someone sat next to me, and I found it was Annabeth.

"Well, we did it Seaweed Brain." She said. 

"Yeah, we really did." I nodded.

She slipped her hand into mine. "What comes next?"

"College, I guess. New Rome's offering us full-ride scholarships." I said.

"That'll be nice," Annabeth sighed. She leaned on my shoulder.

"I really didn't think I'd make it this far, I never really believed in myself. But I'm glad my dad did, even though he was never really right next to me." I admitted.

"You know, neither did I. Despite my pride, I knew I wouldn't be any smarter than kids in my grade. Plus my dyslexia was a bit of a challenge, having to find the textbooks in Ancient Greek to pass each class--Ancient Greek-to-French translation was a tricky one--but it's all over now, isn't it?" Annabeth smiled at me.

"Yeah, it's all over now. I'm ready for the next adventure, though, whatever it may be, as long as you're there with me." I agreed.

And with that, the sun set on our last day as high school students. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry the ending probably wasn't as good as you guys had hoped, I just didn't like how this fic was sitting around without me doing anything for the longest time. So I hope you guys enjoyed it, maybe I'll write a Solangelo fic later since I really want more of their interactions. Thanks so much for reading and commenting!


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